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I have used a detergent, like Pamalove, joy - any of those to break up the grease - mind you be VERY careful around your electronics - get something wet and you may kill it - also try not to get water into the intake manifold

mind you, I don't wash my engine often - usually only if I am trying to find an oil leak

An amazing number of guys have found that oven cleaner removes even the most stuborn caked and baked on grease. They've also found that it tends to remove paint from valve covers and whatever else it gets on and can even etch into aluminum. In other words oven cleaner not recommended on cars.
Plain old Dawn dish soap and/or Simple Green (or dollar store generic) works pretty well when combined with your pressure washer.

nothing beats CASTROL SUPER CLEAN. I get my engines hot and spray it all over the place. Then I fire the engine back up and let it cook a bit. After 5 minutes or so, I'll take the hose that is hooked up to my deepsink and blast hot water on the engine while it's still runing. I wouldn't use a pressure washer because it can really push water past otherwise tight seals. (wheel bearings, engine bearings, etc). The hose water is only 65psi as compared to over 1000 from a pressure washer. The Castrol is biodegradable and so is Simple Green, the Castrol is stronger though. I keep the engine running for a while after this to make sure everything gets evaporated out. If the engine dies while you are doing this, you will have a good indication of where you caused the problem. If you get some in the dist, take the cap off and let it dry.

I would rather deal with wet connections than an engine fire on the freeway when all that build-up decides to light up.

My bro got his 88 Telstar's engine bay filled with mud. This mud was extremely annoying. You couldn't spray it off. You had to wipe it with a degreaser (like kerosene) and then spray. It still isn't totaly off, but got pretty close. Now, this car has electric everything. He just sprayed the whole thing. After drying the disty cap it ran, not quite smooth, but after a while it was back to normal. I am unsure if subies take to water the same. But if you don't turn it on for a few hours after while leaving it in the sun you should be fine. Just don't use a pressure cleaner, as they can blast water, and what you are trying to get off, into places you shouldn't get it...

Someone also suggested leaving it on the lawn and putting a sprinkler under it for a few hours. :-\ Not good if you leave in Australia with water ristrictions.

I have used oven cleaner to clean engine compartments before installing an engine. It does an amazing job of getting rid of whatever might be caked on there, like oil, grease, and paint. I would never use oven cleaner on an engine though.